Remembering the Heresies

So why should we care about what we learned in theology this week?

Starting last monday, our theology class at Strake Jesuit studied the early heresies of the Catholic Church and up to reformation. The last sentence I typed might be enough to put someone asleep at first glance, but what we learned was important and I am going to tell you why.

A heresy is the denial of a declaired Christian truth by a baptized member of the Catholic Church. It can be anything from claiming Christ had a little sister to claiming that Jesus never died for us. Mistakes and miscomunnications made ridiculous ideas like this prevalent in the early Church and caused serious division within it. But why should we care about it now? Why should we care now that Arius denied Christ's divinity or that Nestorus decided Christ was two people? Personally, I think its so we can avoid repetition. You see, we need to remember these things because if we forget about them, whats to stop them from happening again? How easy is it for a Catholic to absent mindedly mix in a little of his or her own opinion with their understanding of the truth of God? After this is done, these ideas can spread quickley. These misteachings can cross continents and turn Catholics against eachother. They can and have split our Church apart, disrupting the Unity that Christ wants for his Church.

We can prevent heresy from spreading. By remembering that the authority to decide Catholic truth lies with the Catholic Magisterium and not with the individual, we can prevent their birth. By staying connected with and obeying the the Vatican, with the Pope and his bishops, we can prevent them from spreading. And by continued efforts in Ecuminism, efforts toward Christian Unity, we can erase the wounds that they have left on the Unity of Christs Church.

But  as pointed out above, to do these things, we must remember. Remembering these events helps prevent them from happening again. Through study, we remember. Through prayer, we remember. Through paying attention in Mr. Cole's class, we remember. History repeats itself, but only if we are ignorant of our past.

A special thanks to Mr. Cole for preserving the unity of the Catholic Church.